“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
Have you ever been in debt? As long as the debt is not yet paid, you will always be afraid of calls or messages. Imagine that one day your creditor decided to harass, threaten you or take your property. Suddenly, someone who you do not even know appears, enquires and in deep compassion decides to pay the debt right away on your behalf. Once the debt is paid, you are free; not afraid of calls or messages or stepping out. What a relief that would be.
The above scenario describes what Jesus did for us. No matter how we tried, sin was natural to us and had dominion (Ephesians 2:1-3). The devil, already aware of our frailties, continued to torment, harass, threaten and make a mockery of us.
However, you heard the gospel and discovered what Jesus did. Just as God had ordained before the foundation of the world, Jesus died for your redemption and He rose for your justification (Ephesians 1:3-8). By His sacrifice, He paid your debt and you are now free from the shackles of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
In Romans 6:23, Apostle Paul explained that the wages for sin is death, however God’s gift to us is eternal life through Christ Jesus. He had earlier stated that sin came into the world because of man’s disobedience (Romans 5:12, 19). This means that man was condemned to die for his sin.
Despite the efforts of man to be cleansed from sins through sacrifices, it was not successful. The sacrifices of animals could never wash away sins (Hebrews 10:1-4). The blood of Jesus is the one-time sacrifice that redeems man. It is more efficacious than all humanly-devised sacrifices (Hebrews 10:12). We have the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14)
The gift of salvation came through Jesus’ death, and once we believe in Him, eternal life is credited to us. (Ephesians 2:8; John 3:16). Now, God sees you as righteous through what Jesus has done. Your debt has been paid!
Although the wages of sin ought to be death, Christ died and paid the ultimate price for us and we received eternal life through Him(Romans 6:23). Now, the sting of death is gone and we can boast of eternal life in Christ Jesus because He rose from the dead. More so, because of this, you’re empowered to live a righteous life by the Holy Spirit who came into you when you believed (Ephesians 1:13).
This is the gospel! God in man, came to the earth as man to die for man so that man would never have to die again. Glory to God!
Bible Reading Plan: Songs of Solomon 1-4